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Quotes: Duke 93, Army 73
11/30/2014 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening Statement:
“That was a really good basketball game. I mean you have two really good teams playing really hard. I'm so impressed with their team. I'm impressed with our team, too. I think Army could play any team that we've played and have a chance to beat them. I think they're that good. I think [Kyle] Wilson is probably going to be the MVP of their league. They come at you. You better show up every round. We played really well and had a couple lapses and boom, they came right back. That was a real good win for us. Sometimes when you say they play hard, it's like saying Barry just has a good personality. You're not saying that Barry's a good looking guy, strong, and talented and whatever. In your case you have a hell of a personality. They not only have a personality, they're good. I think they're really good. Zach [Spiker] has done a terrific job in figuring out the culture there, being a part of the culture and he has embraced it. I think they've done a magnificent job with the prep school. Most of those guys are juniors and seniors and they're going to be together now for two years. Watch them, man. I know I'll watch them with pride. I'm so proud of them and how good they've become and the job they've done. I'm proud of my team for beating them today. That was a heck of a game. For our guys to make sure that they're concentrating on this game before going up to Madison on Wednesday because they've been promoting our game with Wisconsin for about a week and a half. My guys did a really good job this week with both games and with Thanksgiving. They were mature. They played hard. They prepared hard and now we'll move on. Again, that was a real honor to have the United States Military Academy here this afternoon. I thought we put on a really good basketball game, with the two teams.”
On adjustments in the second half:
“We had an awareness on [Kyle] Wilson and on 32, [Tanner] Plomb, which means you don't leave him, but because of how you come out, there's not one guy on [Kyle] Wilson. In other words, I can't just assign Quinn [Cook] to him because they push it and you might have to pick up somebody else and then they have splitting action and all of the sudden, you're on him. So that's a little bit different than most times you do it. That means that everybody has to have an awareness. He's a smart, good player. We did a great job on him in the second half. Quinn did a really good job. We handled the ball well. We had 20 assists. Tyus [Jones] had a terrific game, 10 assists and no turnovers. In that pace, they want to turn you over and wear you out. I thought we handled that well. But for most teams that they play, that will be an amazing strategy for them.”
On expecting the quick pace:
“I've watched all their games. I told my guys, 'Look, this isn't about playing my alma mater or whatever, like we're being nice to them. This is a really good basketball team. This is an NCAA basketball team.' My feeling is they have a chance to be an NCAA [tournament] team. They'll be one of the best non-conference games that we have. I thought we were ready for that. We inbounded the ball well. We knew they would pick us up the whole game like that. We stopped picking them up when we got in to some foul trouble. We just didn't want to put them on the line. The other kid that is really good is [Dylan] Cox. He had six assists, no turnovers. When they got down by about 20, he just said we're not going to stop today and he just motored it down our throats about three times. I could not be more impressed with them. I'm so happy for Zach [Spiker]. He's a good guy. We've become good friends. Their AD should be smart and keep giving him support and take good care of him.”
On playing Army and flashing back to his first win as the head coach of Army:
“I've tried not to. Although, not so much with the number of wins but I remember coaching there, I remember playing there more so than my first win. That's my base. I wear my wedding ring and I wear my West Point ring with a Duke stone. I'm getting all emotional now. I love West Point. I love the fact that I had that opportunity and then I had the opportunity to coach there. One of the reasons that I'm a good coach here is because of my five years there. They'll always be in my heart and I'll always be a West Point-er. To see them play like they did…when I'm shaking hands with them…that was me [when I played there], except I'm not saying they were better but they're good and we were really good. We were really good in the 60's. We were a top 20 team two of my three years, not because of me. They got something good going. I'm so damn happy for them. You can see certain things on tape but until you experience it and see their grit and comradery. I see that in my team, don't get me wrong. It's not like they cornered the market on it. We're developing it with a young team. I think playing against them, that helps us.”
Duke Senior Quinn Cook
On whether this game against Army was any different for Coach Mike Krzyzewski or the team:
“Nothing extra. Since I've been here, he's prepared for every team the same way – like it's a National Championship game. No personal things enter into it, but obviously we wanted to get [the win] for him. I know myself, a lot of the guys who were here last year, we went up to West Point last year to the school and we saw how much Coach means to that school and vice versa. We wanted to get it for him today. ”
On the play of freshman Tyus Jones:
“I know when he was struggling scoring, he wasn't worried about it. He was still into the game and into the team, so it was good to see him get it going offensively today. And he was still sharing the ball, so that was a good, good thing for us. ”
On looking forward to the matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“A lot of people are reminding you about it on social media. Obviously you see it on TV. In the locker room, Wisconsin hasn't been brought up yet, until now. Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] hasn't looked at them yet. Our assistant coaches have been keeping an eye on them, but we had to beat a good Army team today. They're really good, and they'll make some noise this year. We're all focused on Wisconsin now. ”
On preparing the freshman for the matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“They've been in big games – the Stanford championship game, Michigan State. This is their first true road game in a hostile environment. We'll be ready. ”
Duke Freshman Jahlil Okafor
“We knew this was a big game for Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] and a big game for us. They're a really good team, and we knew they were going to fight with us for the entire game, so it was a good test for us.
On the play of Tyus Jones:
“Tyus was phenomenal. He had 16 points, 10 assists, and even five or six rebounds. So he was great for us today. It won't be the last time we see him with double-digit assists. He was great for us, facilitated, got everybody involved, set me up numerous times for easy buckets and other people too. He was really great for us today. ”
Duke Freshman Tyus Jones
“They came after us right away. They didn't hold back anything, and they were aggressive with their drives. They were knocking down open threes. We got caught up a little bit, weren't communicating as well on switches, and that left them with some open threes and they can shoot the ball. We had to do a better job of communicating on that, had a few lapses, but at times we were really good at communicating today. ”
“I just felt comfortable out there today, taking what the defense gave me. I got a couple of buckets early and then just tried to settle us into the offense. Guys were knocking down shots. Army is a great team and they played really hard, so we had to give a lot of effort on the defensive end but then translate it to the offensive end. The energy we put in on defense translated to the defense.”
“I'm not thinking about not turning the ball over, but at the same time, I just want to make sure that I'm poised up top at the head of the offense. I think that rubs off on everybody else. I'm just trying to stay poised up top, get us into stuff, and get us good shots. ”
On how a game like this can help prepare Duke for its matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“I think it helps us a lot. [Army] did a lot of backdoors, dribble handoffs, and Wisconsin does a lot of that stuff too. And [the Army players] play extremely hard, just like Wisconsin will. \I think it was a good game for us, leading up to that. We had to be sharp. Army was a great team. Now we'll come back tomorrow and regroup and refocus and focus for Wednesday.”
Army Head Coach Zach Spiker
Opening Statement:
“I think if you look at the game, I felt our guys competed at a pretty good level, not quite the level we needed to have success by the standard that we wanted to be judged by today. But, I did feel the game came down to a handful of plays, really missed free throws that led to made threes. That's the hallmark of Coach K, to have some scramble plays come out and turn into wide open threes. I know it happened at least twice in the second half. There were a couple other 50/50 balls that they outhustled us for and ended up scoring on those possessions. That was the big, big difference in the game. I thought our guys, for a large chunk of the game, tried to stay in the center of the ring and deliver some punches. I thought we competed; however, we didn't make enough 50/50 plays and get the loose balls. They had 17 offensive rebounds, which led them to the foul line. They didn't hit a ton of threes, but I thought they were some big ones. That's what happened. They were very timely threes that were made.”
On the transition defense:
“It wasn't something we saw we could exploit. It was more, our program sticking to what has gotten us to this point. We have improved and made some progress. It was a chance for us to really attack and make some plays. We feel pretty confident. We're pretty good in transition, so we stuck to what we do.
On the opportunity to play against Duke:
“It is a tremendous honor to be here, to have a chance to speak with Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] every now and then. We are very appreciative of the opportunity to have this experience. The win-loss wasn't quite the direction we wanted it to be, but I think we will build on this. We will be a better basketball program because of this experience and that is the way we are going to look at it. We are very appreciative of the opportunity. It is a tremendous environment. I thought we had some guys step up and make some plays. Hopefully we will be a better basketball team in March because of this experience.”
Opening Statement:
“That was a really good basketball game. I mean you have two really good teams playing really hard. I'm so impressed with their team. I'm impressed with our team, too. I think Army could play any team that we've played and have a chance to beat them. I think they're that good. I think [Kyle] Wilson is probably going to be the MVP of their league. They come at you. You better show up every round. We played really well and had a couple lapses and boom, they came right back. That was a real good win for us. Sometimes when you say they play hard, it's like saying Barry just has a good personality. You're not saying that Barry's a good looking guy, strong, and talented and whatever. In your case you have a hell of a personality. They not only have a personality, they're good. I think they're really good. Zach [Spiker] has done a terrific job in figuring out the culture there, being a part of the culture and he has embraced it. I think they've done a magnificent job with the prep school. Most of those guys are juniors and seniors and they're going to be together now for two years. Watch them, man. I know I'll watch them with pride. I'm so proud of them and how good they've become and the job they've done. I'm proud of my team for beating them today. That was a heck of a game. For our guys to make sure that they're concentrating on this game before going up to Madison on Wednesday because they've been promoting our game with Wisconsin for about a week and a half. My guys did a really good job this week with both games and with Thanksgiving. They were mature. They played hard. They prepared hard and now we'll move on. Again, that was a real honor to have the United States Military Academy here this afternoon. I thought we put on a really good basketball game, with the two teams.”
On adjustments in the second half:
“We had an awareness on [Kyle] Wilson and on 32, [Tanner] Plomb, which means you don't leave him, but because of how you come out, there's not one guy on [Kyle] Wilson. In other words, I can't just assign Quinn [Cook] to him because they push it and you might have to pick up somebody else and then they have splitting action and all of the sudden, you're on him. So that's a little bit different than most times you do it. That means that everybody has to have an awareness. He's a smart, good player. We did a great job on him in the second half. Quinn did a really good job. We handled the ball well. We had 20 assists. Tyus [Jones] had a terrific game, 10 assists and no turnovers. In that pace, they want to turn you over and wear you out. I thought we handled that well. But for most teams that they play, that will be an amazing strategy for them.”
On expecting the quick pace:
“I've watched all their games. I told my guys, 'Look, this isn't about playing my alma mater or whatever, like we're being nice to them. This is a really good basketball team. This is an NCAA basketball team.' My feeling is they have a chance to be an NCAA [tournament] team. They'll be one of the best non-conference games that we have. I thought we were ready for that. We inbounded the ball well. We knew they would pick us up the whole game like that. We stopped picking them up when we got in to some foul trouble. We just didn't want to put them on the line. The other kid that is really good is [Dylan] Cox. He had six assists, no turnovers. When they got down by about 20, he just said we're not going to stop today and he just motored it down our throats about three times. I could not be more impressed with them. I'm so happy for Zach [Spiker]. He's a good guy. We've become good friends. Their AD should be smart and keep giving him support and take good care of him.”
On playing Army and flashing back to his first win as the head coach of Army:
“I've tried not to. Although, not so much with the number of wins but I remember coaching there, I remember playing there more so than my first win. That's my base. I wear my wedding ring and I wear my West Point ring with a Duke stone. I'm getting all emotional now. I love West Point. I love the fact that I had that opportunity and then I had the opportunity to coach there. One of the reasons that I'm a good coach here is because of my five years there. They'll always be in my heart and I'll always be a West Point-er. To see them play like they did…when I'm shaking hands with them…that was me [when I played there], except I'm not saying they were better but they're good and we were really good. We were really good in the 60's. We were a top 20 team two of my three years, not because of me. They got something good going. I'm so damn happy for them. You can see certain things on tape but until you experience it and see their grit and comradery. I see that in my team, don't get me wrong. It's not like they cornered the market on it. We're developing it with a young team. I think playing against them, that helps us.”
Duke Senior Quinn Cook
On whether this game against Army was any different for Coach Mike Krzyzewski or the team:
“Nothing extra. Since I've been here, he's prepared for every team the same way – like it's a National Championship game. No personal things enter into it, but obviously we wanted to get [the win] for him. I know myself, a lot of the guys who were here last year, we went up to West Point last year to the school and we saw how much Coach means to that school and vice versa. We wanted to get it for him today. ”
On the play of freshman Tyus Jones:
“I know when he was struggling scoring, he wasn't worried about it. He was still into the game and into the team, so it was good to see him get it going offensively today. And he was still sharing the ball, so that was a good, good thing for us. ”
On looking forward to the matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“A lot of people are reminding you about it on social media. Obviously you see it on TV. In the locker room, Wisconsin hasn't been brought up yet, until now. Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] hasn't looked at them yet. Our assistant coaches have been keeping an eye on them, but we had to beat a good Army team today. They're really good, and they'll make some noise this year. We're all focused on Wisconsin now. ”
On preparing the freshman for the matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“They've been in big games – the Stanford championship game, Michigan State. This is their first true road game in a hostile environment. We'll be ready. ”
Duke Freshman Jahlil Okafor
“We knew this was a big game for Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] and a big game for us. They're a really good team, and we knew they were going to fight with us for the entire game, so it was a good test for us.
On the play of Tyus Jones:
“Tyus was phenomenal. He had 16 points, 10 assists, and even five or six rebounds. So he was great for us today. It won't be the last time we see him with double-digit assists. He was great for us, facilitated, got everybody involved, set me up numerous times for easy buckets and other people too. He was really great for us today. ”
Duke Freshman Tyus Jones
“They came after us right away. They didn't hold back anything, and they were aggressive with their drives. They were knocking down open threes. We got caught up a little bit, weren't communicating as well on switches, and that left them with some open threes and they can shoot the ball. We had to do a better job of communicating on that, had a few lapses, but at times we were really good at communicating today. ”
“I just felt comfortable out there today, taking what the defense gave me. I got a couple of buckets early and then just tried to settle us into the offense. Guys were knocking down shots. Army is a great team and they played really hard, so we had to give a lot of effort on the defensive end but then translate it to the offensive end. The energy we put in on defense translated to the defense.”
“I'm not thinking about not turning the ball over, but at the same time, I just want to make sure that I'm poised up top at the head of the offense. I think that rubs off on everybody else. I'm just trying to stay poised up top, get us into stuff, and get us good shots. ”
On how a game like this can help prepare Duke for its matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday night:
“I think it helps us a lot. [Army] did a lot of backdoors, dribble handoffs, and Wisconsin does a lot of that stuff too. And [the Army players] play extremely hard, just like Wisconsin will. \I think it was a good game for us, leading up to that. We had to be sharp. Army was a great team. Now we'll come back tomorrow and regroup and refocus and focus for Wednesday.”
Army Head Coach Zach Spiker
Opening Statement:
“I think if you look at the game, I felt our guys competed at a pretty good level, not quite the level we needed to have success by the standard that we wanted to be judged by today. But, I did feel the game came down to a handful of plays, really missed free throws that led to made threes. That's the hallmark of Coach K, to have some scramble plays come out and turn into wide open threes. I know it happened at least twice in the second half. There were a couple other 50/50 balls that they outhustled us for and ended up scoring on those possessions. That was the big, big difference in the game. I thought our guys, for a large chunk of the game, tried to stay in the center of the ring and deliver some punches. I thought we competed; however, we didn't make enough 50/50 plays and get the loose balls. They had 17 offensive rebounds, which led them to the foul line. They didn't hit a ton of threes, but I thought they were some big ones. That's what happened. They were very timely threes that were made.”
On the transition defense:
“It wasn't something we saw we could exploit. It was more, our program sticking to what has gotten us to this point. We have improved and made some progress. It was a chance for us to really attack and make some plays. We feel pretty confident. We're pretty good in transition, so we stuck to what we do.
On the opportunity to play against Duke:
“It is a tremendous honor to be here, to have a chance to speak with Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] every now and then. We are very appreciative of the opportunity to have this experience. The win-loss wasn't quite the direction we wanted it to be, but I think we will build on this. We will be a better basketball program because of this experience and that is the way we are going to look at it. We are very appreciative of the opportunity. It is a tremendous environment. I thought we had some guys step up and make some plays. Hopefully we will be a better basketball team in March because of this experience.”
Players Mentioned
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